Program Manager, Power Grid Automation

gwelec; Bolingbrook (IL); On-site; USD 86,000 - 112,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance

Short and Long-Term Disability

Life Insurance

Tuition Reimbursement

401(k)

Job summary

G&W Electric is seeking a Program Manager for Power Grid Automation to coordinate engineering workload, maintain the master schedule, and drive process improvements across teams. The role focuses on planning, prioritization, and cross-functional coordination rather than executing engineering work.

You will develop and monitor KPIs, lead process standardization, and manage handoffs with Sales and Application Engineering to ensure timely, high-quality delivery. Travel is possible as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience in business or engineering management.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and maintain the Power Grid Automation engineering workload – track intake, milestones, and status; align with the Manager, Automation Engineering.
• Own and maintain the master schedule and capacity view across all active Power Grid Automation projects, weighing priorities and bottlenecks.
• Develop operational metrics and KPIs (on-time delivery, cycle time, backlog, utilization) and propose corrective action.
• Lead cross-functional process improvement initiatives with Application Engineering, Operations, and Aftermarket Support.
• Determine how project workflows, templates, checklists, and documentation should work; develop, implement, and standardize them; adopt improved tools.
• Serve as the internal point of coordination among Power Grid Automation engineers and cross-functional teams.
• Coordinate complex order intake and handoffs from Sales and Application Engineering into engineering.
• Lead resolution of cross-functional issues and escalations affecting throughput.
• Facilitate project kickoff, status, and closeout reviews; turn lessons learned into changes.
• Lead capacity and resource planning and propose allocation.
• Lead and support Lean/Six Sigma initiatives across the department and partners.
• Champion on-time, high-quality delivery to internal and external customers.

Skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Facilitation

Communication

Scheduling/prioritization

Process improvement

Project coordination

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering management, operations, or related field

PMP certification (preferred)

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Project

Smartsheets

SharePoint

Salesforce

JDE

Job description

Program Manager, Power Grid Automation

Reporting to the Director, Power Grid Automation, this position is responsible for the operational coordination, workflow planning, and process improvement of the Power Grid Automation engineering team. The person in this role sets the day-to-day approach to scheduling, prioritization, and process questions for the department, bringing in the Director, Power Grid Automation on the calls that carry real risk to cost, timing, or customer commitments. The role keeps engineering resources organized and aligned across concurrent orders and projects, maintains visibility into the department’s project portfolio, and partners with Application Engineering, Operations, and Aftermarket Support to standardize and continuously improve the processes that move automation solutions from order intake through delivery. This is a non-engineering, program- and process-focused role; it does not perform protective relay programming, logic design, or other technical subject-matter work.

Primary/Essential Responsibilities:

• Coordinate and maintain the Power Grid Automation engineering workload – tracking order and project intake, ownership, milestones, and status – so that work is organized, visible, and progressing on schedule, while aligning with the Manager, Automation Engineering. Decides how competing orders get sequenced when demand outpaces capacity, bringing the Manager, Automation Engineering in only on tradeoffs that would materially affect a customer commitment.

• Own and maintain the master schedule and capacity view across all active Power Grid Automation projects, weighing competing priorities, conflicts, bottlenecks, and at-risk milestones and proposing a plan of action to department leadership before delivery is impacted.

• Develop operational metrics and KPIs (on-time delivery, cycle time, backlog, and utilization), interpreting what the trends mean for the department and proposing corrective action to department leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.

• Lead cross-functional process improvement initiatives with Application Engineering, Operations, and Aftermarket Support to streamline handoffs, reduce rework, and improve on-time, defect-free delivery.

• Determine how functional project workflows, templates, checklists, and documentation practices should work, then develop, implement, and standardize them; lead the adoption of improved processes and tools across the engineering team, including selecting and configuring the project-management platforms used to support them.

• Serve as the internal point of coordination among Power Grid Automation engineers, project managers, and cross-functional teams – facilitating cadence meetings, removing roadblocks, and ensuring alignment on scope, schedule, and deliverables.

• Coordinate complex order intake and handoffs from Sales and Application Engineering into the engineering team, ensuring requirements and documentation are complete before technical work begins.

• Lead the resolution of cross-functional issues and escalations that affect engineering throughput, determines resolution and partners with Aftermarket Support and Operations as needed.

• Facilitate project kickoff, status, and closeout reviews, turning lessons learned into concrete changes the team actually adopts.

• Lead capacity and resources planning, weighing competing project demands against available engineering capacity and proposing how resources should be allocated to the Manager, Automation Engineering.

• Lead and support continuous improvement (Lean / Six Sigma) initiatives within the department and across cross-functional partners.

• Champion consistent, on-time, high-quality delivery to internal and external customers – through coordination and process leadership rather than performance of the technical engineering work.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering management, operations, or a related field – or equivalent work experience.

• 5+ years of program/project coordination, operations, or process-improvement experience, preferably in an engineering, manufacturing, or technical environment.

• Demonstrated ability to organize and coordinate the work of technical teams and manage multiple concurrent projects.

• Strong cross-functional collaboration, facilitation, and communication skills – strong written and verbal communication a must.

• Documented ability to drive process improvement and to resolve issues and competing priorities independently.

• General technical aptitude is sufficient to understand engineering workflows and communicate effectively with engineers (this role is not required to perform engineering work).

• Demonstrated ability to work through scheduling, prioritization, and process questions independently

• Expert knowledge of the Microsoft suite – Word, Excel, Outlook, and Project – and proficiency with project/portfolio tracking tools such as Smartsheets.

• Ability to travel occasionally, up to approximately 15–25%, including occasional weekends as needed.

Preferred Qualifications:

• PMP or equivalent project/program management certification.

• Lean Six Sigma certification or demonstrated continuous-improvement experience.

• Experience with SharePoint, Salesforce, and JDE software programs.

• Familiarity with the power/utility industry or electrical equipment manufacturing.

What we offer you:

Typical pay is $85,963-111,783

Please note the pay information shown above is a general guideline. Pay is based upon candidate skills, experience, and qualifications.

This position is eligible for participation in our Quarterly Incentive Pay Program.

G&W Electric offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance

• Short and Long-Term Disability

• Life Insurance

• Health club membership program and reimbursement

• Employee Assistance Program

• Tuition Reimbursement

• 401 (k)

• Annual Profit Sharing

• Vacation

• Air-conditioned/heated state-of-the‑art manufacturing facility

About G&W Electric

Innovating since 1905, G&W Electric has grown into a global leader in engineered electrical power grid solutions. Working with us means joining a worldwide team of passionate manufacturing professionals striving to continually improve the technologies the world depends on to deliver safe, reliable electricity. Our culture is focused on employee success, so we foster an entrepreneurial environment that encourages everyone to thrive.

G&W Electric enjoys a long reputation for product quality, innovation and world‑class customer service to the power industry. We have established this reputation by believing that our greatest asset is our employees. We owe our success to the initiative and talents of highly skilled individuals within our team‑based organization. Our goal is to set the standard for customer satisfaction by ensuring a superior level of service, performance and innovation. As a global organization and industry leader, we are committed to cultivating an engaging work environment that embraces our core values and develops our talent. Our continuous focus on growth and innovation means that you become part of a company that provides challenging opportunities, rewards excellence and combines your individual expertise to achieve a higher level of shared success. As part of our organization, you also help power the world!

G&W Electric is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All employees and applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law. G&W Electric participates in the E-Verify process for all new hires.

G&W Electric participates in the E-Verify process for all new hires.

VEVRAA Federal Contractor